


A Vision with Nowhere to Go

by Avery_Kedavra



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Cookies, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders Angst, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, THEY'RE A FAMILY OKAY, i don't have any tags i mean there's just a bit of insecurity i think?, oh and everyone is sympathetic!, onward to the self-indulgent skirt fluff, that's literally what this is, the new skirt pics dropped so i wrote a drabble, yep that's it i think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-13 18:13:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29032974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avery_Kedavra/pseuds/Avery_Kedavra
Summary: Roman gathers the other sides for their assistance with his skirt. Problem one: most of them don't care about Roman's skirt. Problem two: this is more important to Roman than they realize.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Everyone, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 13
Kudos: 117





	A Vision with Nowhere to Go

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, yes, the Roman skirt pics watered my crops and healed my soul, so I wrote a quick drabble in their honor! This was entirely unplanned. But. Hi. Yes. The Roman skirt picks watered my crops and healed my soul, so--
> 
> (Title is from Ready to Go by Panic! at the Disco)

“I’ve gathered you here,” Roman said, “for an important consultation. Thank you all for coming.”

Patton grinned back. Logan looked confused. Virgil blinked blearily, having been just dragged from his bed and plopped on the living room couch with the other Sides. Janus stifled a yawn with one gloved hand, another drumming on his knee.

“Do we...” Logan paused. “Am I alone in being confused?”

“Oh, no, you’re the _only_ one who doesn’t get it,” Janus drawled. He examined his nails. “I had important things to do. This had better be worth it.”

“You owe me,” Roman said. He squared his shoulders and prepared his speech. “And this is _extremely_ important. Life-threatening! A dilemma for the ages!”

“Yay!” Patton said, clapping.

“Wait, wait.” Virgil squinted suspiciously across the couch. “ _Deceit_ is here?”

“I _don’t_ have a name.”

“Janus is here because, as I said, he owes me.” Roman paused and braced himself. “Also, although I’m loathe to admit it, he is skilled in the _dramatic_ arts. Such as--fashion.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Virgil leaned back into the pillows. “He wears gardening gloves from the nineteen-fifties.”

Janus looked offended. “You threw _random squares_ of flannel onto your hoodie, and you call _me_ lacking fashion sense--”

“Kiddos,” Patton said firmly. “This is about Roman right now. Shush.”

Virgil grumbled but went silent. Janus gave Logan a knowing, annoyed look. Logan didn’t return it.

“It is about me,” Roman said, beaming. He was jumping up and down on the balls of his feet. “Now, as you know, we’ve been having some _lovely_ photoshoots. Patton looked adorable--”

“Aw, kiddo!”

“Logan looked like a librarian who would tell me to shut up--”

“How dare you.”

“And Virgil somehow managed to be more edgy than ever.” Roman talked loudly over Virgil’s hiss. “And _now_ , it’s _my_ turn.”

“Oh, are you finally doing your photoshoot?” Janus sighed in relief. “You’ve taken forever. I can’t go until _you_ do.”

“I’ve taken my sweet time, as a sweet prince should.” Roman gestured dramatically at them. “However, I must admit that I’ve hit a--roadblock of sorts. Namely, I can’t decide on a skirt.”

“Oh!” Patton nodded. “I’m sure you could search up one on Ebay--”

“One, Padre,” Roman said, raising a finger, “no one uses Ebay anymore.” Virgil nodded in agreement. “Two, the problem does not lie in _finding_ possible skirts. I have found _plenty_. I simply cannot decide on _one_.”

Everyone on the couch suddenly winced. “I know where this is going,” Virgil muttered. “Don’t say it.”

“So,” Roman said, bravely muscling on. “I’ve enlisted you to help me choose the perfect skirt.”

Virgil groaned and buried his head in his hands. “Come on, Princey. I trusted you.”

“That sounds like fun!” Patton said. He looked around for support. “Aren’t you guys excited?”

“Ecstatic,” Janus said, pulling his bowler hat over his face. “I’m going to sleep.”

“Hey, no!” Roman pouted. “I need your help on this! It won’t be so bad!”

“Much as I hate to admit it,” Logan said slowly, “this is hardly my area of expertise. Surely you can make the choice yourself?”

“No!” Roman threw up his hands. “No, I can’t! I’ve tried for _days_ , and I’ve narrowed it down to a few dozen, but there are just too _many!_ I don’t know what shade of red I’d like, or what accents, or whether it should be a skirt or a dress--I haven’t decided on frills, _or_ trimming, _or_ lace, _or_ layers, or _anything!”_

“Just wing it!” Virgil shrugged. “I grabbed the first skirt that looked cool. I know it sounds weird coming from me, but dude, don’t overthink it.”

“How can I not overthink it?” Roman raised an arm into the air. “I am posing for an audience of thousands! I have the single spotlight! I don’t wish for _blemishes_ to be burned into view!”

“I have skin cream, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Janus blinked at everyone’s surprised look. “Self-care includes skin care!”

“ _Figurative_ blemishes,” Roman corrected, and Logan huffed smugly. “I want to look perfect. I _need_ to look perfect. Except I don’t know what skirt to pick!”

“I dunno, kiddo.” Patton looked hesitant to contradict him. “I hear what you’re saying, but maybe Virgil’s right? This isn’t such a big deal. Have fun with it! Pick whatever skirt makes you smile!”

“I’ll smile with whatever makes me look like a prince.” Roman sighed. “It’s hard to focus on that when everything _else_ is happening. It _is_ a big deal. I know it is.”

“You don’t have to post your picture right away,” Logan said. “If you’d like, you can take your time, or not post one at all.”

“Janus is waiting for me to finish!” Roman gestured almost violently at Janus. “And I can’t just quit, that’s _worse!”_

Logan raised a hand in surrender. “Fine. You simply seem...agitated about the prospect. I don’t wish for you to feel undue stress.”

“Easy for _you_ to say,” Roman snapped. “You looked _great_.”

“I--” Logan blinked. “I did?”

“Yeah! All of you did!” Roman waved his arms. “And I--I have to be at least as good as you guys, or better, because princes are extremely photogenic! They have the _best_ outfits! They look _good_ , and so must I!”

Virgil frowned and gave Patton a look. Patton shifted back and forth on the edge of the couch. Janus fingered his gloves again, pulling the edges across his skin, like he was considering whether to take them off.

“You’ll look _good_ no matter what.” Logan coughed. “You are...nearly identical to us, so if we do, so will you. Objectively.”

“Yeah, you’ll look fine.” Virgil gestured at him. “You always do.”

“I know,” Roman said, and there was a weight to his words. As if Virgil hadn’t actually reassured him.

Janus’ fingers tightened around his gloves.

“It’s okay.” Patton’s voice came out as a whisper. He was staring at his knees. “I--I know you want something good right now, Roman. I get that. Just--this doesn’t need to be your... _redemption_ , or whatever you’re trying to make it. It’s just a skirt. It really just should be fun.”

Logan’s mouth formed a small _o_. Virgil nodded.

“Patton’s right,” Janus said, his voice clipped. He was avoiding Roman’s eyes. “In my honest opinion, all pictures look better when the subject is enjoying themselves. Haven’t you seen those dull Victorian pictures? If you’re happy--smiling, even--I don’t think anyone will care about the minutia of your outfit. I certainly wouldn’t.”

Roman was quiet.

“Yeah,” Virgil said. “What--what Janus said. We’re rooting for you, no matter what.”

“If this upsets you, I highly encourage you to take a pause.” Logan drummed his fingers on his tie. “Or...find a way to make the process more enjoyable.”

Roman shifted from foot to foot, pulling at his sash. "I--I tried. I wanted to.”

“You did?” Patton frowned. “When?”

“With...you guys.” Roman’s voice faltered. “I thought it would be--fun. If you helped. We could just--have fun. It was stupid.”

Logan’s eyebrows raised. Virgil sucked in a breath.

“That’s not stupid,” Janus said.

Roman sunk into himself, just a bit.

A clap of hands startled them all. Patton had sat up, looking determined. “So. What do we do? Do you have anything narrowed down?”

“Oh, I--” Roman stepped back. “You...you don’t have to, Padre. It’s okay.”

“We want to.” Virgil looked around. “Right?”

“Right,” Janus said. “It would be a shame to let you look like a _complete_ fashion disaster.”

“I would be...amenable to helping.” Logan shot Roman a small smile. “It is not my area of expertise. However, I do know much about the process of creating fabric, and I--would appreciate the experience.”

“We want to do this for you, kiddo.” Patton looked up at Roman. “If it’s this much of a big deal for you, we’re gonna help.”

For a second, Roman’s eyes shone with tears. Then he blinked, and they shone with excitement. “You’re sure?”

Four thumbs up.

“Alright,” Roman said, beaming. “Let’s do this! Research time! Grab your stuff!”

Patton jumped up and ran to the kitchen, probably to make a batch of dress-up cookies. Logan pulled out his notebook and pen. Virgil started tapping at his phone. Roman stood and watched them, still smiling, smiling brighter than he had in days.

“That,” Janus said, pointing at him. “That’s what you do. Perfect.”

“What?” Roman laughed. “What do I do?”

“Smile like that for the picture.” Janus shrugged. “It’ll work spectacularly, in my humble opinion.”

“Oh.” Roman looked around and waved at Patton, who waved back. “I--I might not smile _that_ wide. I’m not sure if--you know, it’s not exactly regal and princely. Besides, I’m not sure if I want--” He glanced at Virgil, who saluted him. “To be so...open. Not just yet.”

Janus watched him with an unreadable expression. Then he nodded, his lips lifting in a smile of his own. “That’s more than fine.”

“Really?” Roman asked.

“Of course.” Janus gestured at Logan, who was knee-deep in paper, and Patton and Virgil. “It will look great regardless. You have yourself a skilled design crew--with a talented fashionista at the reins, also known as _myself_.”

“Thanks,” Roman said. “For all the help. And for--yeah.”

Janus looked taken aback at the sincerity. His smile softened. “It really will look great, Roman. It’s _you_ , after all.”

“It is,” Patton agreed, with a nod from Logan. “Any picture of our kiddo is a great one.”

“Amen.” Virgil smirked. “Pictures are crap. We know how cool you really look, no matter what you do.”

“Besides, we’re here to help.” Logan looked up and held out a pen. “Would you like to show us some of your ideas for the skirt? We could use those to find a good match.”

Roman paused. Then he took the pen.

“This is gonna be _fun_ ,” he said, "and it’s going to look _so_ good.”

And it was. And it did.

And Roman loved the dress they chose, but he knew he wouldn’t remember the photo in the end. He’d remember the hours spent sprawled on the couch with his friends, sketching ribbons and lace, laughing and planning and eating Patton’s cookies. The photo came out great. The memories came out better.

The photo looked good. Roman looked good.

He _felt_ good. That was more important. That was the part that made him smile afterwards, off-camera and off-stage, out of the spotlight.

Maybe the photo wasn’t the big deal, after all. Maybe Roman was.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr at @averykedavra!


End file.
